Out the Window
by julesmonster
Summary: Sequel to At the Door and Over the Top. Ziva returns to DC. Estbalished Gibbs/DiNozzo. Slash.


**Out the Window**

**By Julesmonster**

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** Here's the next story in the At the Door Series. Takes place approximately a year and a half after Over the Top. Hope you enjoy! Jules

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Ziva David opened the door to her new apartment. It wasn't as nice as the one she had given up when she left DC behind, but it was home for now. She had rented it furnished and it was filled with utilitarian items that could withstand a number of short-term tenants. She didn't plan on staying here for long. Just long enough to settle things with her old team and then she would either be moving on again or find a more permanent place. She had severed ties with her father and Mossad after the fiasco in Somalia and had taken time to travel and try to figure out exactly what she wanted from her life. The answers she had finally found had led her back here. The only question that remained was would she be welcome.

Exhausted from a day of traveling, Ziva didn't bother with dinner. Instead, she used the oversized tub and took a long bath. She had flown in from London, where she had spent the last several months. Before that had been Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Prague, Moscow, Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, and Hong Kong. She had spent time exploring each city and country, learning about the people and their unique histories. As she did, she learned just how little she knew of the world outside of the dogma that she had been taught by her father. There was only one way and it was his way. Now she was beginning to se that there were countless ways to live, love, and believe and that none of them were any more right or wrong. They were just different.

She had been traveling for almost three years now and in that time she had always felt like there was someone or something chasing her. It wasn't true. Now that she had dropped off the Mossad payroll, no one really cared about her. Her father had made it clear to their enemies when she was taken in Somalia that he wouldn't lift a finger to save her, so she wasn't even valuable as a hostage. Still, she never felt safe. But that wasn't new. She had never felt safe, not even as a child. The only time she had felt truly safe was when she had been a part of NCIS. Unlike her comrades in arms in Mossad, Gibbs, Tony, Tim and even Abby always had her back. Hell, they had gone to Somalia and rescued her from Saleem. And then she had turned her back on them again. Ziva didn't expect NCIS to welcome her back with open arms. She had deserted them twice. But she couldn't seem to move on with her life anywhere else until she fixed the mess she had left behind.

She knew that Gibbs understood why she had gone. They had communicated several times over the last three years. Each time, Gibbs had asked her to come home. _Home_. Funny, somewhere along the way, DC and NCIS had become more of a home to her than Israel. She would go to his house tomorrow and hope that he was there. He might know how to approach the others. He had once left and come back and been forgiven.

Finishing with her bath, Ziva got an old t-shirt from her bag and pulled it over her head. It would do for tonight. And tomorrow, she would start trying to mend bridges. Or was that fences?

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"Gil!" Tony called out to his two and a half year old son. They were supposed to be getting ready to go to the zoo, but Gil had decided that he wanted to bring a toy car to play with, and was now searching through the toy box in his room. Gibbs had been at a conference in Atlanta for three days and was due back later that afternoon, so Tony was on his own with Gil. Gil, of course, had been an absolute terror without his papa around to keep him in line. Tony tried, but he didn't have the same intimidating ways that Gibbs did. "If you aren't down here in the next ten seconds, we aren't going. One. Two. Three. Four. Five…"

Tony stopped counting when he heard Gil running through the upstairs hallway and down the stairs. Tony's heart always stopped when Gil did that. He'd been walking since just before his first birthday, but Tony still had a hard time believing he wouldn't fall down the stairs and break his neck one of these times. The last three steps were skipped as Gil leapt to the floor and stood proudly beside his daddy.

"Got my car!" He announced proudly and Tony rolled his eyes. It was an exact replica of Gibbs' Charger.

"Let's go get in the SUV," Tony said as he picked up the bag with a change of clothes and a few snacks for Gil. But before they could even open the front door, the doorbell rang.

"I get it!" Gil shouted as he grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. "Hey! Who are you?"

Tony snickered at his son's rude question before he went to see who was there. When he did, his heart almost stopped.

"Ziva."

"Tony?" Ziva said with some confusion.

"Daddy?" Gil looked up at his father. "Who's Zee-Vah?"

"She used to work at NCIS," Tony told his son before turning back to Ziva. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Gibbs," she said. "Is he in?"

"He's at a conference," Tony said and watched her visibly deflate. "But he should be back this afternoon. If you'd like to stop by this evening, I'm sure he'll want to see you."

"But you do not," Ziva stated.

"No, I don't," Tony confirmed. "If you will excuse us, we were just on our way out."

"You are a father?" Ziva said as she watched Tony pick up Gil. "How did…"

"You gave up any right to that sort of information three years ago," Tony said coolly. "I'll let Gibbs know to expect you tonight."

Ziva stepped aside and allowed Tony to pass after shutting and locking the door behind him. He carried the little boy to the SUV—a far cry from the flashy cars Tony used to drive—and buckle him into a car seat. Gibbs had never mentioned that Tony had a son. Then again they had rarely spoken about the other team members. Gibbs had always said that she should contact them herself if she wanted to know how they were doing.

Apparently a lot had changed in three years. That brief meeting had left her with a thousand questions, not the least of which was why were Tony and his son at Gibbs' house when Gibbs was out of town? Where did the boy come from? Who was his mother? When had she become pregnant? Was it before or after Ziva had left the team? So many questions, but Tony was obviously not in any mood to answer them. She watched sadly as Tony drove away.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Gil was in the petting zoo, feeding a goat while Tony watched on from outside the fence. He had pulled his cell phone out and called Gibbs while Gil was otherwise occupied and wouldn't be listening to his conversation.

"She just showed up at the house," Tony said in answer to Gibbs' question. "I told her you would be home this afternoon and she could speak with you then. She asked about Gil, but I didn't want to talk to her about him. Hell, I didn't want to talk to her at all."

"I know you don't, but you did invite her back to our home," Gibbs said. "You are going to have to deal with her again. And I doubt she's here just for a friendly visit. She's not had an easy time of it since she left Mossad."

Tony sighed. "I know. And I'll help her if she's in trouble. I still care about her. But I'm still so fucking angry."

"She hurt you," Gibbs said. "And she never bothered to apologize or thank you for risking your life to save hers. Twice. I know why you're angry. Just try to keep things in perspective. I'll be home in an hour. I left a little early, so I could surprise you and Gil, but I think you've had enough surprises for one day."

Tony gave a rueful laugh. "Yeah. We're almost done here. I think Gil's about ready for his nap, so we'll meet you at the house."

"I love you, Tony," Gibbs said quietly.

"I love you too, LJ," Tony said with a small smile. "Drive safely."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Gil was thrilled to find his papa home when they got back from the zoo. It took almost an hour to get him down for his nap, but once he was asleep, his papa and daddy made up for the three days they had spent apart. Tony was still in the shower when Gil woke up. Once he was dressed again, he went down stairs to the den to see that Gibbs and Gil were playing outside on the swing set Gibbs had built last summer. He made dinner one the grill while the two played and then ate dinner on the deck. It was a nice evening, comfortable for August in DC, and Tony would normally have really enjoyed it, but with Ziva's impending visit on his mind, he found himself lost in thought instead.

"I'll put Gil to bed tonight," Tony volunteered because he didn't want to be the one to answer the door when she arrived. They hadn't set a time, but Tony was surprised when she still hadn't arrived when he returned downstairs. He poured them each a glass of bourbon and joined Gibbs in the living room to wait. Talk was stilted and Tony knew that Gibbs was worried about Ziva. Tony also knew his partner had forgiven her for her poor choices long ago. Gibbs had tried to convince her to come back before, but this was the first time she had been back in the country as far as they knew.

Tony jumped when he heard the doorbell ring. Gibbs squeezed his shoulder before going to let Ziva in. Tony stayed on the sofa waiting. He had considered going to the den and hiding, or just going to bed, but decided that he needed to hear what Ziva had to say. And she needed to hear what he had to say to her.

"Have a seat," Gibbs said to Ziva as he led her into the living room. She glanced uncertainly at Tony before taking the armchair beside the sofa. Gibbs retook his seat beside Tony, though not quite as close as they had been before. "So, why'd you come back? I know there has to be a reason."

Ziva glanced back and forth between the two men, unsure about what was going on. Why were they together? Who was the little boy? So many questions she had no right to ask. "I've come to make amends." She paused while Gibbs nodded and Tony continued to eye her coolly. "This last year, I have tried to settle down and move forward with my life. I have found that to be impossible until I deal with what I have left behind. I was hoping you might help me figure out the best way to do that."

Tony held his breath. She wanted to make amends. "Are you trying to come back to NCIS?"

She looked at him as if surprised he had spoken to her. "Not necessarily. I loved working with NCIS. But I know that my past action may have irreparably damaged the trust needed to work as a successful team. Mainly I am here to apologize."

Gibbs, who had been quietly observing both Ziva and Tony reached for Tony's hand and gave it a squeeze before standing. "I think the first step in making amends is to talk things out with Tony. I'll be in the basement."

He left the two staring after his departure, until the silence was too heavy to be ignored.

Ziva cleared her throat. "I am sorry. For my assumptions regarding your actions. For my lack of gratitude. We were friends and I should have trusted you."

"Yes, you should have." The words were harsh, but the sigh that followed said more than those words could.

"I thought it was jealousy," Ziva said. "I thought you were in love with me."

"I know," Tony huffed with a small touch of humor. "I wasn't."

"I figured that out after this morning," Ziva admitted. "That little boy. He's two years old?"

"Two and a half," Tony agreed.

"You would have been with his mother when I thought you were pining for me," Ziva said. "Where is she?"

"Dead," Tony said. "Listen. I'm… I'm going to forgive you. You and I both know it. But I can't do this yet. I can't open up my life for your scrutiny yet. Give me some time. Please."

Ziva nodded. "Perhaps I should go and speak to Gibbs." She rose to her feet. "I am sorry about his mother, but he is lucky to have you for a father."

Something in Tony's chest loosened a little with those words. "Thanks, Ziva. Maybe… Maybe you could come over next weekend and meet him properly. And you can tell me about all the places you've been."

Ziva swallowed hard and nodded. "I would like that. Very much."

Ziva went down to the basement and found Gibbs working on his boat. He didn't look up at her as she came down and sat on the landing at the bottom.

"That was fast," Gibbs said, still concentrating on the plank he was measuring. The hull was now upright and Gibbs was working on what would become the interior of the boat now.

"He doesn't trust me," Ziva sighed. "But he did invite me to meet his son this weekend."

"You're wrong," Gibbs said. "He's still hurt, but if he invited you to meet Gil, then he definitely trusts you."

Ziva's face lit up. "He said he would forgive me in time."

"Then he will."

"They live here?" Ziva asked. "Tony and Gil?"

Gibbs nodded and pulled out his saw to cut off the end of the plank he had been measuring. The sound of the saw cut through the silence and prevented Ziva from asking more questions. When the excess wood fell to the floor, Gibbs brought the piece over to check the fit. It was perfect.

"He didn't want to tell me about Gil's mother," Ziva said.

Gibbs put the wood down and climbed out of the boat. He pulled a step stool over to where Ziva was sitting and sat facing her. "You had to know that this wasn't going to be easy."

"Yes," Ziva said. "Abby is going to want to kill me."

Gibbs chuckled. "Perhaps. You should leave her for last. She's more likely to forgive if she sees that Tony is okay with it. In Abby's eyes, your worst crime was hurting him."

"In my own, as well," Ziva said. "How could I have been so blinded? Even when I heard the truth with my own ears, I could not let go of my misplaced anger. It was easier to be angry with him than my father. And then Somalia happened. Even as angry as he must still have been with me, he risked his life, he and Tim both. And I just turned my back on him again. I knew I was dead in my father's eyes. I knew the truth. But I could not… I was just so ashamed of what I had done. I had to leave because I couldn't live with myself. And that is also why I have returned. I cannot live like this, knowing I have caused pain to those I love. I need to make it right, even if they cannot love me anymore."

"I still care about you," Tony said. He had gone to put his and Gibbs' glasses in the sink and had heard most of Ziva's conversation with Gibbs. Having a rather messed up relationship with his own father, he could sympathize with her to an extent. Now, he was standing at the top of the stairs and Ziva was looking up at him with hope in her eyes. "You were my partner Ziva. You're like family, Ziva. I could never stop loving you just because you made some bad decisions and we fought. Just because I am hurt, doesn't mean I've stopped caring about you."

Ziva nodded and there were tears in her eyes. Tony couldn't remember ever seeing the ex-Mossad officer cry before. Not sure what to do with that, Tony shrugged at Gibbs and left. Not wanting to eavesdrop any more, he went up stairs to the master bedroom and turned on the television.

Gibbs listened to the sound of Tony's footsteps going to the second floor and waited until he heard the television click on through the heating ducts. "He does care about you still. We all do. Even Abby. But you are going to have to be patient with them and give them time to get their anger out of their systems. Abby especially. But I wouldn't have asked you to come back so often if I didn't think it could be done."

Ziva nodded again. "Perhaps I shall pay a visit to Ducky tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Gibbs said and squeezed her shoulder.

Ziva stood and began to head up the stairs. "Thank you, Gibbs. Not just for today, but for everything. I'm not sure how I would have survived these last years if I hadn't known I had your support."

"Well, you still have it," Gibbs said.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Tony was still awake when Gibbs came up from the basement. He had done a check of the house and made sure it was locked up tight, as was his habit since Tony and Gil had moved in. He was more concerned with their safety than he had ever been of his own. Tony was lying in bed, watching the end of some show that Gibbs didn't recognize. Gibbs headed into the bathroom to wash up and the younger man shut the TV off by the time Gibbs returned.

"You invited her over this weekend," Gibbs said as he climbed into bed beside his partner.

Tony nodded and shuffled around to get comfortable against Gibbs' side. "We need to start someplace. And I guess that she's going to need to understand what's going on if she's going to try and stay."

"You think she will?" Gibbs asked.

"I think that all that traveling has shown her what she left behind," Tony said. "She wants to come back but isn't sure she'll be welcome."

"I think you are right," Gibbs said as he kissed the top of Tony' head which was resting on his chest. "I think she's going to stay once she realizes that she can be forgiven."

**GDGDGDGDGD**

"Oh, no way!" Abby's voice could be heard from down the hall by the elevator as soon as Tony stepped off. "There is no way that witch is coming back here to hurt my boys again!" Ah. She'd heard about Ziva. Tony poked his head around the door and saw Timothy trying very hard to calm an irate Abby.

"Abs!" Tony called, entering into the fray.

"Did you know about this?" Abby said accusingly. "Did you know that Ziva was in town?"

"She showed up on our doorstep a few days ago," Tony admitted. "We talked."

"And?"

"And I told her I still care about her, but it will take time for me to forgive her," Tony said. "She's coming over this weekend to meet Gil. And Gibbs and I will probably tell her the rest then."

Abby looked angry and confused now. "You're going to just forgive her? Just like that? After everything she did?"

"Abs, she was hurting too," Tony pointed out. "Her father has messed her up. I can certainly sympathize with that. She needed time to get her head on straight. As far as I can tell, she's done that. She apologized."

"To me too," Tim said. Now that Tony was getting through to Abby, he was going to use that to get himself out of the doghouse.

Abby spared a glare for Tim before turning back to Tony. "You trust her?"

"I never didn't trust her," Tony said.

"But what about the secrets…?"

"What about them?" Tony asked. "Nothing she sent them could be classified as top secret. It was mostly cases we'd worked. And she's given us information from them at times as well. Abby, she was caught between her family and her life here. And when she realized that her father was using her like a pawn in a chess game she walked away. It took her three years to figure out who she is, but when she did, she came back here. Not to her family in Israel, she came here. That says something doesn't it."

"You've forgiven her." Abby stated.

"I haven't…" Tony paused. "Maybe I have. I don't know. I do know that it doesn't hurt quite so much now that we've talked."

"Yeah, okay," Abby said. "I'll hear her out then. But I reserve the right to destroy her if she ever does anything like this again."

Tony laughed and kissed Abby's cheek. "I know. That's why I love you so much." Tony turned to leave, with Timothy hot on his heels.

"Not so fast, McGee!" Abby yelled. "You still have so explaining to do!"

Tony laughed all the way back to the bullpen.

**GDGDGDGDGD**

Ziva came on Saturday. Tony hadn't set a time or day, but Gibbs had gone ahead and done it over the phone on Thursday. They would grill lunch, and Ziva could see them act and react as a family. Any questions she had could be answered once Gil was down for his nap. Tony let her in and showed her to the deck off the kitchen. There was a pitcher of iced tea on the table and soda in a cooler near the grill. Ziva chose the tea and Gibbs poured her a glass. The three of them sat at the table chatting about politics and the weather while Gil ran around in circles making believe he was an airplane. When that got old, he ran up the deck's three steps and launched himself into Gibbs' arms.

"Papa! Did you see?" Gil asked with enthusiasm. "I was an airplane!"

"I did see, little man!" Gibbs said. "You were a great airplane, too. No crash landings!"

"Push me on the swing?" Gil asked with wide eyes. He had already learned exactly how to get Gibbs to do anything he wanted. "Please?" It was the protruding bottom lip that always pushed Gibbs over the edge.

"Of course," Gibbs said as he stood and swung Gil into his arms. He turned to Ziva. "Please excuse me. Duty calls."

Tony watched them with a fond smile on his face. When he turned back to Ziva, he realized she had been watching him.

"He calls him papa."

"That's right." Tony's smile never faltered.

"And he calls you daddy."

"True too," Tony said giving nothing away. He was enjoying watching Ziva piece their relationship together.

"And the two of you live here now." It was another statement that required no response but Tony responded anyway.

"For two years now." Tony looked at Ziva who looked like she was going to explode with curiosity. "Oh, go ahead and ask."

"Are you and Gibbs…?" Ziva, it seemed, wasn't able to ask even with permission.

"A couple?" Tony finished for her. "Together? Partners?"

"Yes. All of those," Ziva said.

"Yes, to all of those," Tony replied with a smirk.

"I didn't know that Gibbs…" Ziva, it seemed wasn't going to finish any of her sentences.

"Neither did I," Tony said a bit ruefully.

"And you…?"

"Oh that I knew about," Tony said teasingly.

"How did that…happen?" Ziva said, and Tony was pleased to hear her finish a question. Maybe she was going to accept them.

"I guess I have you to thank for that," Tony said wryly. "After we got back from Israel, Gibbs told me about your ultimatum. I was hopped up on pain meds and I was so grateful he chose me that I kissed him. Things progressed from there. Things were a bit bumpy at first, but we'd already been together for a year by the time Gil came into our lives. We were ready to move on to the next step and Gil gave us an excuse, so I moved in here."

Ziva was silent for a long time as she came to grips with what Tony had told her. Not only had he been with another woman before she left, he had been with Gibbs for three years now, a record for Tony, and a record for Gibbs since Shannon. It was definitely serious. Whatever lingering ideas that Tony might have feelings for her were dashed in that instant. It had all been in her head. All her claims of jealousy and accusations that Tony had been pining for her since they started working together were nothing but her imagination. Perhaps it had been she who had been pining for him… But none of that mattered now. He was obviously happy with Gibbs.

"So he is your son," Ziva finally asked. "By blood?"

"He's mine," Tony confirmed. "But LJ adopted him, so he's both of ours now. The papers were finalized about a year ago. We're a family."

"Family," Ziva said quietly. "Something that neither you nor I have much experience with. At least not the good kind."

Tony looked closely at his former partner. "I don't know about that. We're family. You me, Gibbs, Abby, Ducky, Tim. Even Jimmy. Blood doesn't always make a family. Look at Gil and LJ. To Gil, LJ is his father as much as I am, no matter whose blood runs through his veins. I think we're lucky, you and me. We got tossed out the window by our own families, so now we get to choose who our family is."

Ziva thought about this for a long time. Tony was right. Wasn't that what she was trying to do by coming back to DC? Wasn't she trying to create a family without blood? "We are connected by ties stronger than blood," Ziva finally agreed.

"Has Abby forgiven you yet?" Tony asked. "Because she's going to, but she'll hold out for a while to make you work for it."

Ziva smiled. "We had lunch. She insisted on the most expensive restaurant she could find and ordered the most expensive item on the menu, even though it had meat in it and she wouldn't eat it. But we talked. And you are right. She is going to make me jump through circles."

"Hoops. She's going to make you jump through hoops," Tony corrected with a laugh. "God, I had forgotten how funny those idiomatic mistakes can be."

Ziva joined in his laughter, more from relief than from actual amusement. Gibbs and Gil chose to return right about then and Tony went to work at the grill, putting on sausages and hotdogs while Gibbs, Gil and Ziva carried out plates and food from the kitchen for their lunch.

Ziva enjoyed both the food and the company and was pleased to find that Tony's anger had dissipated. She was forgiven. And deep in side she began to forgive herself as well. Perhaps everything would work out after all.

**The End**

**A/N:** Well? What did you think? Too easy for Ziva to get back into Tony's good graces? I have a hard time with Ziva. Part of me wants to hate her and tear her apart in my stories for betraying the team and hurting Tony. But part of me understands how much her family messed her up. So, I guess I'm a bit like Tony in this story. Angry but willing to forgive and try again. Let me know what you think! (Oh my. Did I just write that? I've always looked down on those who beg for reviews, but I'm starting to feel like I'm just a review whore at heart. *Sigh*) Jules


End file.
